LANSDALE, PA -- Chilean exporters were moving sourcing from the early, northern Copiapo Valley to Chile's central valley as February arrived, and importers have said that the Chilean grape business was making the transition between the two areas, with late Copiapo grapes showing some discoloration.

WASHINGTON -- Thailand is set to become the first country allowed to send irradiated fruits to the United States, according to a Jan. 31 agreement signed in Bangkok between Thai and U.S. officials.

Under a joint Framework Equivalency Work Plan, Thailand would be allowed to initially ship six irradiated fruits: mango, mangosteen, pineapple, rambutan, litchi and longan. Thailand is hoping the agreement paves the way for Thai producers to send other pest-free fruits, such as coconuts, to the U.S. market.

Nick Chappell didn't just stumble into fresh produce -- he made a beeline for it.

Now a fruit salesman with Watsonville, CA-based California Giant, Mr. Chappell, 23, is the nephew of Cal Giant partner Bill Moncovich. But while that connection might help explain his employment, it does not explain his passion.

"As a kid, I said I wanted to follow in Bill's [Moncovich] footsteps," Mr. Chappell said. "I have a passion for it -- every day is a little different."

The Greater Boston Food Bank announced that it received a record-breaking 62,266 pounds of food through Shaw's sixth annual "Spirit of Giving" food drive, a New England-wide program that benefited eight food banks, which in total collected 197,110 pounds of donated food.

Dole bananas, a product of Dole Food Co. Inc. in Westlake Village, CA, will get top billing on the big screen with a starring role in Curious George, an animated film adventure coming to theaters nationwide Feb. 10.

The Mexican government's fruit and vegetable promotional programs that have been pursued aggressively in recent years in the United States will now be pursued with similar vigor in Canada, according to Enrique Lobo, Mexico's newly appointed minister of agricultural affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Ottawa, ON.